At least eight people, including a child, drowned after a speedboat carrying migrants capsized during a chase with a Greek patrol boat in the Aegean Sea.
The Coast Guard said the boat’s driver “lost control” while trying to escape from the patrol vessel.
According to local media reports, the ship was traveling at high speed and collided with the side of a Greek coast guard vessel as it tried to escape.
The Coast Guard said that 18 people have been rescued from the sea so far, and many survivors were injured after the incident.
Friday’s incident occurred near Rhodes, close to the Turkish coast, a route frequently used by migrant smugglers.
Helicopters and Coast Guard vessels are continuing to search for more survivors.
Greek Shipping Minister Christos Stylianides expressed his “deepest sadness” at the loss of life and said he aimed to crack down on “cruel” people smugglers who sacrifice their lives for profit.
Thousands of migrants die in the Mediterranean every year trying to reach Europe by boat.
last month Eight people, including six children, rescued after migrant boat sinks Near the Greek island of Samos.
More than 50,000 migrants have arrived in Greece by boat so far this year, making it Europe’s second-largest migrant route after Italy.
Migrant arrivals have been falling steadily since August 2023 but have increased again since the summer, According to data From the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Some 180,000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea this year, and another 2,000 have died or gone missing, agency data shows. About 23% of arrivals are children.